Regardless of how abrupt their first-round playoff exit might have felt, the Calgary Flames in many ways delivered on the betting value they presented at the start of the National Hockey League season.
At the outset in October, the Flames were a +2500 darkhorse in Stanley Cup futures at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The oddsmakers also gave the Flames an outside shot in division champion props with a +550 price, double that of the Pacific Division favourites, the Vegas Golden Knights (+240) and San Jose Sharks (+260).
There was, evidently, some inkling that a team laden with forwards in or approaching their peak years – think Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk – would adapt well to an NHL that had tweaked gameplay to encourage scoring.